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Law of Property Act 2000
78Deposit of title documents and conveyance
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78 Deposit of title documents and conveyance
(1) A purchaser who is not in default under an instalment contract may,
any time after the contract has been entered into, direct the vendor,
at the cost of the purchaser, to deposit with the Public Trustee or a
person prescribed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette:
(a) the certificate or certificates as to title, or other documents of
title, relating to the land the subject of the contract; and
(b) a duly executed conveyance of the land in favour of the
purchaser.
Law of Property Act 2000 48
(2) On deposit of the conveyance with the Public Trustee or a person
prescribed under subsection (1), the conveyance is taken to be
delivered by the vendor in escrow pending discharge of the contract
by performance or otherwise.
(3) A vendor who fails to comply with a direction given under
subsection (1) is to be taken to have broken a condition of the
contract and the purchaser is entitled to all civil remedies
accordingly.
(4) If a certificate as to title or other document of title and a conveyance
have been deposited with the Public Trustee or a person prescribed
under subsection (1), the Public Trustee or the person:
(a) must hold the certificate as to title or other document of title
and the conveyance in trust and must not, except for the
purpose of safekeeping, deliver the certificate or other
document and the conveyance to any person until:
(i) the time for performance of the contract arrives;
(ii) the contract is discharged by performance or otherwise;
or
(iii) the Court, on the application of the Public Trustee or the
person prescribed under subsection (1), the vendor, the
purchaser or any other interested person, orders
otherwise; and
(b) may receive money payable by the purchaser under the
contract to be held on trust for the vendor.
(5) Nothing in this section applies to an instalment contract if, at the
time the contract is made, the land the subject of the contract is
subject to an existing mortgage.